BRUSSELS
The European Union (EU) authorized the European Commission to conduct visa exemption talks with Turkey.
Later Turkey and the European Union (EU) initialled the readmission agreement in Brussels on Thursday.
Turkey's Permanent Representative to EU Ambassador Selim Yenel and European Commission's Director General for Home Affairs Stefano Manservisi initialled the agreement.
Turkey will wait for an EU action plan on visa exemption which the Commission will present in a year before penning the readmission agreement which would allow expulsion of Turkish nationals who entered the EU territory illegally without any formality.
Readmission for third-country nationals will be possible following a three-year transition period which would allow for the construction of modern refugee processing centers.
The Commission is expected to present a visa exemption action plan this autumn and the implementation of the action plan is likely to come a minimum two and a half years.
Diplomatic sources say actual visa-free travel for Turks visiting the EU could be possible within 4-6 years and it would require a majority of votes in the EU.
Turkey demands simultaneous implementation of visa-exemption and the readmission agreement.
